The present invention relates to an athletic swing practice apparatus and especially to the combination of a lower back support belt and resilient swing supporting straps extending from predetermined positions on the support belt.
In the past, it has been common to provide a great variety of athletic swing practice systems including golf swing systems which include various types of straps for strapping the arms and portions of the body to force the body in a predetermined manner during a practice swing of a golf club. Other systems strap the wrist to force the wrist to maintain certain positions during a practice swing while yet other systems guide the golf club and sometimes provide for a belt having flexible waist support cords as shown in my prior U.S. Pat. No. to Bellagamba et al., 4,852,881. It has also been common in the past to provide various types of lower back supports, such as the lower back support belt taught in U.S. Pat. No. 4,709,692 for a thigh mounted lower back support belt by Kirschenberg. In the Kirschenberg patent a thigh mounted lower back support belt works to keep the human spine straight while a person is bending. The added support for the lower back aides the person engaged in aerobics, golf, lifting and prolonged sitting and provides full flexibility of motion while easing the support load of the lower back. The belt includes thigh straps attached to a waist belt which pulls the stomach back while bending. The present invention utilizes a thigh mounted lower back support belt, such as shown in the Kirschenberg patent, in combination with flexible straps attached at predetermined positions on the back of the belt and wrapping around the belt. The straps have resilient cords, such as bungee cords, attached thereto and extending to stationary upright poles, or the like, for providing a continuous pull on the straps from a predetermined position on the lower back support belt. This provides the advantage of lower back support while putting a continuous force on the golfer with extended resilient cords so that the waist is held during a golf swing in the proper position while the lower back is supported with the support belt to improve the athlete's swing and posture during the making of practice swings.